This invention relates to a hand tool of the kind for insertion between a flexible window-retaining gasket and a frame of a vehicle to separate the gasket from the frame so that a flexible deformable strip material may be fed through the tool and inserted between the gasket and the vehicle, the tool including a support portion and end operative portion, the operative portion being offset from the support portion and having a hole therethrough for insertion of the said flexible deformable strip material.
In car repair operations it is necessary, after the repair has taken place, for the car to be repainted by spraying. In order to get a good finished appearance, it is essential that spraying is limited only to those parts which have to be repainted and that the spray does not go onto other parts. This is particularly important around window areas of vehicles where the bodywork is resprayed but any paint which strays onto the window gaskets gives a very untidy appearance and detracts from the overall finished look of the vehicle. In order to overcome this problem masking tape is generally used over the gasket and this is applied so that it abuts at the junction between the gasket and the frame of the vehicle. Spraying then takes place and any excess spray will end up on the masking material. As the masking material which is usually in the form of a tape, is removed the gasket material below it is revealed without any spray paint particles on it.
The use of a masking tape has a disadvantage that there is a build up of paint at the junction of the masking tape with the vehicle frame and when the tape is removed there is a slight stepped surface at this point. This can only be obliterated by careful hand finishing and sanding. It will be appreciated that such an operation is a time-consuming one and hence adds to the expense of the repair process.
In order to overcome these disadvantages an invention of the kind described above has been devised and is commercially available under the registered trade name of "The Follex System". In this System a selected flexible strip material which is in the form of a plastic tube of a diameter and wall thickness dependent on the nature of the gasket to be dealt with is able to hold the free end of the gasket a sufficient distance from the frame of the vehicle so that masking tape can readily be applied to the gasket to protect it during spraying without the masking tape coming into contact with the vehicle frame itself. Furthermore, spraying takes place effectively under the gasket and up to and onto the flexible tube. As the tube is removed after the spraying operation and discarded there is no problem of unsightly paint spots being left. Any ridge of paint which builds up between the tube and the vehicle frame is underneath the gasket and is hidden from view when the tube is removed and the gasket reverts to its original sealing position. This system is therefore very successful in providing a cheap and effective method of protecting gaskets from being covered in paint during a respraying operation of a vehicle.
The system described is particularly useful for gaskets of a highly flexible nature, but problems have been incurred where stiffer gaskets on certain types of vehicles are encountered and where the tool currently available is not wholly successful in raising the gasket edge. The current tool has a rounded portion which is used to guide the gasket itself but the tool cannot always readily be inserted between the gasket and the frame or guide the flexible material consistently into position. There is therefore a need for an improved form of tool for use with harder types of gasket and it is an object of the present invention to provide such a tool.